Our Bureau
New Delhi
In 2025, June 25 marks the 50th anniversary of the National Emergency that was imposed during the reign of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. To mark this day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the book, ‘The Emergency Diaries’ presented by BlueKraft Digital Foundation.
‘The Emergency Diaries’ goes through the experiences that the PM faced during the time of Emergency and how those experiences shaped him as a leader. The book relies on first-person accounts of associates who worked with PM Modi back then while also using other archival materials.
PM Modi posted through his official social media account and stated, “‘The Emergency Diaries’ chronicles my journey during the Emergency years. It brought back many memories from that time. I call upon all those who remember those dark days of the Emergency or those whose families suffered during that time to share their experiences on social media. It will create awareness among the youth of the shameful time from 1975 to 1977.”
He also recalled that he was part of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh when the Emergency was imposed and he was in the anti-Emergency movement. He emphasized that he is happy that the BlueKraft Digital Foundation compiled the times that taught him so much about how to be a leader and learn from the people who were already part of the political spectrum.
“When the Emergency was imposed, I was a young RSS Pracharak. The anti-Emergency movement was a learning experience for me. It reaffirmed the vitality of preserving our democratic framework. At the same time, I got to learn so much from people across the political spectrum. I am glad that BlueKraft Digital Foundation has compiled some of those experiences in the form of a book, whose foreword has been penned by Shri HD Deve Gowda Ji, himself a stalwart of the anti-Emergency movement,” The PM stated.
The Emergency that was imposed in 1975 was a 21-month period that changed the course of the politics of the country forever. In the elections in 1979, Indira Gandhi was voted out and then the Janata Party coalition came to power starting a new chapter in Indian politics.
